Hatmaking apparatus and method of operating same



5, 19460 ;J. E. KANE 2,395,178

HAT MAKING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME Original Filed July 8,1940 7 She'ets-Sheet 1 TTO HAT MAKING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATINGSAME Original Filed July 8, 1940 '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 .nnmuml llll arch 194.1. E. KANE 2,33%9178 INVENTOR Kane Mmh 5,1946. .1. E. KANE 2,396,178

HAT MAKING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME Original Filed July 8,1940 "7 Sheets-Sheet 3 warm:

INVENTOR John E. Kane ATTORNEYS Marsh 5 146..

J. E. KANE I HAT MAKING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME OriginalFiled July 8, 1940 UHIIIM 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 w. I Q q 0 I I I 0 Q o o N QINVENTOR John E. Kane ATTORNEYS March 5,. 1946. u. E. KANE 8 HAT MAKINGAPPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME Original Filed July 8, 1940 7Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTQR Jo/m JE. Kane ATTORNEYS J. E. KANE 293959173 HATMAKING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME March 5, fl9%6.

Original Filed July 8, 1940 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR B John E. Kane vA7u/wi g ATTORNEYS HAT MAKING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME archJ. E. KANE 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Original Eiled July 8, 1940 INVLNTOR John E.Kane m5 Eww amwm Patented Mar. 5,19%

HATMAKIN G APPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME John E. Kane, Bethel,Com, assignor to The Frank H. Lee Company, Danbury, Conn., a corporationof Connecticut Original application July 8, 1940, Serial No.

344,338, now Patent No. 2,357,475, dated September-5, 1944. Divided andthis application December 29, 1942, Serial No. 470,473

13 Claims.

This invention relates to the handling of fur and more particularly toan apparatus and a method for supplying fur to a bat-former cone tothereby form hat bodies or bats from the fur.

An object of this invention is to provide apparatus for handling fur ina carefully controlled and efficient manner to form hat bats, forexample upon perforated cones. Another object is to provide a method andapparatus for handling fur and the dividing of-fur into predeterminedamounts. A still further object is to provide a method and apparatus ofthe above character for supplying fur in predetermined quantities to thecones of a bat-former in a dependable and efficient manner. A furtherobject is to provide apparatus of the above character for receiving bulkfur and producing from this fur bats of standard high quality and ofproper size and weight. Another object is to provide apparatus which iscompact and sturdy in construction and efficient and dependable inoperation. A still further object is to provide a thoroughly practicaland dependable method of operation and control for apparatus of theabove character. These and other objects will be more fully pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, arrangements of parts, and in the severalsteps and relation and order of each of the same to one or more of theothers, all as will be illustratively described herein, and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of one embodiment of theinvention with certain of the structure broken away and with certaindetails omitted for clarity;

Figure 2' is an enlarged plan view of the apparatus for removing 'furfrom the fur hopper at the right-hand side of Figure 1, with the centralportion of the hopper omitted;

Figure 3 is an elevation from the left-hand side of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an elevation from the right-hand side of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 55 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an elevation of the means for adjusting the tension on thefeeder apron;

Figures 7 and 8 show a means for handling the fur as it is being removedfrom the supply hopper; Figure '7 being a sectional view, and Figure 8being a fragmentary plan view;

Figure 9 is a schematic wiring diagram showing the control circuit forthe apparatus of Figure 1.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No.344,338, filed July 8, 1940, and issued on September 5, 1944. as PatentNo. 2,357,475. This copending application was a continuation-impart ofmy application, Serial No. 264,903, filed March 30, 1939, entitled Hatmaking apparatusfj and issued July 9, 1940, as Patent No. 2,207,407. Asstated in this patent, some of the apparatus disclosed therein issimilar to that disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,172,343 toGeorge T. Birdsall. The present application likewise discloses certainapparatus which is related to certain of the apparatus disclosed in thisBirdsall patent.

In making felt hats, the fur is treated by a process known as carrotingso that the fur acquires felting characteristics and in that condition,the 1ur is deposited in a thin layer upon a large cone to form a hatbody or bat. When being deposited, the fur forms into a loose sheet overthe entire cone, and after being removed from the cone, the bat isworked and treated so that it feits" and shrinks. When the bat hasreached the proper size, it is subjected to further processing to there-:by shape it and prepare it as a flmshed hat. It is important that thehat bats be of uniform weight and of high quality so that the processingof the bats will be uniform and so that the finished hats will be orsmooth, even felt which is durable. In obtaining these results, theamount of fur deposited to form each bat must be carefully measured, andthe fur must be deposited in a uniform manner over the cone. Inpractice, the fur is thrown into the top of the'forming tower and fallsdownwardly onto the cone. The cone is perforated, and suction within thecone draws air in through the perforations so that, as the individualhairs fall, they are drawn against the cone.

When the fur is thrown into the top of the forming tower, eachindividual hair should move independently of the other hairs so that thefur will be deposited on the cone in an even layer. Thus the individualhairs should be thoroughly separated at the time they reach the formingtower. When the fur is stored or handled in bulk, it is often rolled andworked to an extent that the hairs tend to mat. Accordingly, it isimportant that, prior to being deposited upon the cone, the furbethoroughly separated, as by successive picking operations.

Illustratively, the fur is stored in bulk form, and when it is to beused, it is placed in ahopper. From this hopper, the fur is dispensed toa weigher, and control mechansim is provided which weigher and thedumping of the weighed quantities of fur from the weigher. Each of theseindividual quantities of fur is sufiicient to form a hat bat, and iscarried from the weigher to the forming tower where it is deposited upona cone. In the present embodiment, the steps of moving the fur from thehopper and delivering the fur to the forming tower are utilized tocarefully separate the fur so that the individual hairs fall onto thecone in the manner referred to above. After a quantity of fur sumcientto form a bat is deposited upon the cone, the cone is removed from theforming tower, and the bat is wetted and stripped from the cone forfurther operations.

The various steps of this process are properly correlated in the presentembodiment so that the entire mechanism operates as a unit. Thus thefur-moving and weighing operations, and the operations of thebat-forming tower and the associated parts, are correlated to therebyproduce bats in an efficient manner. This result is obtained byproviding a central unified controller which depends mainly uponelectrically operated solenoid units, some of which in turn control airand water valves and air-pressure systems.

The fur is removed from the hopper and delivered to the weigher at avariable rate which rate is automatically controlled. During thedelivery of fur to form each of the predetermined quantities, theinitial amount of fur is delivered to the hopper of the weigher at arapid rate, and when the fur in the hopper approaches the desiredquantity, the rate of delivery is automatically reduced. In this manner,the major portion of each quantity of fur is quickly delivered to thehopper, and the total time required to deliver a quantity of fur to thehopper is thereb materially reduced. However, at the end of the weighingoperation, the rate of fur delivery is very slow so that the supply offur is stopped at the exact time that the proper amount is delivered tothe scales hopper, and as a result, the quantity of fur is notoverweight or underweight. Thus, the reduction in the time necessary forperforming the weighing operation does not impair the accuracy of theweighing operation.

By providing suitable control mechanism and suitable variable means fordelivering fur to the weigher, the weigher completes its weighingoperation before the completion of the step of depositing the previouslyweighed quantit of fur on the cone. This makes it possible to moreaccurately correlate the various operations of the apparatus as the timeof weighing is readily adjusted to meet the other conditions of use. Inaddition to this, the various operations of the entire apparatus areinterrelated through the control mechanism to give great flexibility ofaction. Thus, the apparatus normally completes the cycle of operation ina minimum length of time, but if one portion of the apparatus encountersa delay, the control mechanism continues to supervise the otheroperations without undue loss of time,

Referring particularly to the right of Figure l, a hopper 2 is providedwith a vertically extending apron 4 which is in the form of an endlessbelt built up of strips 6 each of which is provided with a plurality ofbarbs 8. Apron 4 moves, as indicated by arrows, with the right-hand sidemoving upwardly and carries fur from the hopper. Barbs 8 are rigidly setin their respective strips at an angle, extending toward the directionof movement. Thus, they tend tograb and retain the fur as they moveupwardly, and as a result,

they carry a layer of fur upwardl from the hopper.

Adjacent the top of the apron and to the right thereof is a rapidlyrotating back wiper it which is formed of four barb-carrying stripsevenly spaced about a shaft I2. Back wiper l0 rotates counterclockwisewith the side adjacent apron l moving opposite to the direction ofmovement of the apron. Thus, the barbs on wiper i0 scrape excess furfrom the barbs 8 of apron s and permit only a layer of a controlledthickness to move from the hopper.

To the left of the top of apron 3 is mounted a front wiper it which is awooden roller carrying a plurality of barbs 88. Below front wiper it isa deflector plate H which deflects the fur away from the downwardlymoving apron 6. Front wiper it rotates very rapidly with respect to themovement of apron d, and as the layer of fur is carried to the frontwiper, it is picked from the apron by barbs l8, and the fur is therebythoroughly separated.

This finely divided fur falls from front wiper it over the top ofdeflector plate ii and down to .the hopper 28 of the balance scalemechanism,

generally indicated at 22. Hopper 20 is provided with a dumping bottomwhich is controlled by solenoids in a. manner more clearly pointed outbelow. When the proper amount of fur has been delivered to the scalehopper, the dumping mechanism is operated, and the fur falls onto anendless belt 24 which extends between a pair of rollers 23 and 25.During the dumping operation, fur is diverted from the top of the scalehopper by a baffle 26 which is of a heavy mesh screen and which normallyhangs in the vertical position shown, but which is moved to thebroken-line position when the proper quantit of fur has been deliveredto the hopper, and it is held in this broken-line position while thedumping mechanism operates. The fur is carried to the left on apron 24,and at the left, it moves under an idler roller 28 to a pair of feedrollers 30.

As the fur emerges from the left of the feed rollers, it enters thebottom of a vertically extending chute or passageway, generallyindicated at 32; this passageway extends the entire width of themachine. "Within this passageway and adjacent feed rollers 30 is arapidly rotating picker 34 which rotates clockwise and separates the furand impels it with a stream of air upwardly within the passageway. Belowthe picker, passageway 32 is provided with an adjustable air inlet 36,and picker 34 rotates at such a rate that air moves in through inlet 36and up the passageway. The size of inlet 35 is varied by moving plate 33vertically; plate 33 is adjustably held in position by a plurality ofthumb-nuts 31.

Extending along the top of passageway 32 are two perforatedsieve-rollers 38 and 40 which extend the width of the machine andtotally close the top of the passageway. The perforations in thesesieve-rollers form an air outlet for the air which is drawn in at thebottom of the passageway, and, as the air escapes, the fur impelledupwardly by picker 34 and entrained in the air moves against thesieve-rollers 38 and 40 forming layers offur thereon. Sieve-roller 38rotates clockwise, and sieve-roller 40 rotates counterclockwise, and thetwo layers of fur formed on the two sieve-rollers combine where therollers meet into a single layer of fur which is carried over the top ofsieve-roller 40 and is fed by a roller 42 into a pair of feed rollers44. As the layer of fur emerges at the left of feed rollers 44, it iscaught by a top picker 46, and the fur is completely subdivided andmoves over roller 48 to the left.

In this embodiment, sieve-rollers 88 and 40 are provided with internalbailles 8I and 85, respectively, which extend the length of thesieverollers and which deflect the air toward the ends of thesieve-rollers. Bailie III is rockably mounted by means of a webstructure upon the shaft of the sieve-roller 38, but rotation of thebaflle is prevented by a downwardly extending weight 89. Baiile 3|extends from where the two sieve-rollers meet to the top of sieve-roller88. Likewise, baffie 35 extends from where the two sieve-rollers meet towhere sieve-roller 40 is adjacent roller 42, and is mounted on the shaftof sieve-roller 40 with a weight M to prevent rotation of the baiile;Accordingly, the air enters the sieve-rollers from passageway 32 anddeposits the layers of fur on the sieve-rollers, but in escaping, theair moves to the ends of the baflles. As a result, the escaping air doesnot disturb the fur which is moving over the top of sieve-roller 40 andacross roller 42 to feed rollers 44.

Top picker 46 and roller 48 are enclosed in a chute 50 which extends tothe top of the forming tower, generally indicated at 52. Forming tower52 encloses a perforated cone 54 which is movably supported upon arotating base and which is provided with an internal suction in a mannermore fully pointed out below. Top picker 46 and roller 48 are soadjusted that when fur is being deposited, the fur moves in. a steadystream from chute 50 into the top of forming tower 52 and downwardlytoward the perforated cone 54. The suction on cone 54 is sufficient todraw the individual hairs onto the cone, and a bat is formed of uniformthickness throughout.

When the quantity of fur to form a bat has been deposited upon a cone,the sieve-rollers 38 and 40 are stopped, and fur is no longer deliveredto the forming tower 52. The two sets of vertically swinging doors 20Iof forming tower 52 then open, and the cone'with the bat thereon isswung out of the forming tower. Simultaneously, another cone is movedinto the forming tower and the forming tower doors are closed again. Thesieve-rollers 38 and 40 are restarted at the proper time to startdelivery of fur to the cone within the forming tower as soon as thedoors are reclosed.

The cone with the bat thereon is moved to a sprayer (not shown) and thebat is sprayed with hot water, whereupon an automatic flipper meansinverts the cone and the bat is stripped from the cone. The empty coneis returned to its position at the side of the forming tower and isready again for use. During the movement of the cone from the formingtower with the bat thereon, full suction is maintained on the cone, butwhen the bat becomes partially wetted, this suction is reduced. Fullsuction is again placed upon the cone at the time the cone is returnedto the forming tower.

The specific mechanism for wetting the bat and for moving the conebetween the forming tower and the wetting station, as well as betweenthe wetting station and the bat-removing station, is explained in detailin my copending application, referred to above. This mechanism, as wellas its control means is discussed more fully below, and except aspointed out, the apparatus is illustratively the same as that shown inmy copending application. For the sake of brevity and clarity, certaindetails are omitted from the present showing, though certain 01 thisstructure will be described briefly. It should be noted that in theembodiment of my copending application as well as in the presentembodiment, a single forming tower is provided and there are two coneswhich are alternately moved into the forming tower. Each cone isprovided with its own suction means as well as its own bat-wetting andbatremoving mechanism.

In Figure 1, one of these cones, 64, is shown positioned in the formingtower to receive fur to form a bat. Cone 54 is mounted on a rotatablebase I66 which is mounted upon a circular frame I68. Mounted below frameI68 is a motor I88 which is provided with a gear at the upper end of itsshaft co-operating with a ring gear on the rotatable base I66. Duringthe time that fur is being deposited upon the cone and during thewetting operation, motor I69 rotates the cone so that fur is evenlydeposited upon the cone and so that the bat is evenly wetted.

Frame I68 is rigidly mounted upon the top of a pipe I10 which extends toa sealing ring I12 on the floor and which is connected to a suction fan(not shown). Suction pipe I10 is adapted to swing about the sealing ringI12 and the swingable left-hand end of the suction pipe is supported bya pair of rollers I14. Movement is imparted to suction pipe I10 by acrank I18 which is connected through a link I80 to a crank arm I82.Crank arm I82 is rigidly mounted upon the end of a stud shaft (notshown) and rigidly mounted uponthe lower end of the stud shaft is apinion I86 which cooperates with a rack (not shown). This rack isprovided with a cylinder and piston unit at each of its ends, thecylinder I96 of one of these units appearing in Figure l. Air isalternately supplied to these cylinder and piston units to move the rackback and forth and this movement of the rack rotates pinion I86 tothereby swing crank arm I82. In this manner,

suction pipe I10 is swung back and forth through tween its positionwithin the forming tower and its wetting position.

Reverting to the weighing and conveying mechanism, the weighingmechanism is somewhat similar in construction and operation to thatshown in my copending application referred to above. The fur is rapidlyand accurately weighed by delivering fur to the hopper at a rapid rateduring the time that the major portion of each quantity of fur is beingdelivered to the hopper and then delivering the fur at a slow rate whenthe amount of fur in the hopper approaches the desired weight.Accordingly, the weighing mechanism is provided with two individually opating sealed switches 114 and 562 (see Figure 9) which are sequentiallyclosed when the scale-arm 2I makes 'the first movement toward thebalanced position. This movement occurs when substantially the desiredquantity of fur has been delivered to the scale hopper 20, with switch114 closing approximately one and one-half seconds before the closing ofswitch 562. The closing of switch 114 raises the armatures of a relayswitch 166 which moves back wiper I0 (Figure .1) toward apron 4 tothereby reduce the thickness of the layer of fur being presented to the.front wiper I6 by the apron. The closingof switch 562 reduces both thespeed of apron 4 and the speed of rotation of the front wiper, and theop-- erating relationship between the various parts is such that thelayer of fur of reduced thickness is presented to the front wiper I6 atthe time the front wiper speed is reduced. As pointed out below, thismanner of operation results in the fur a beam of light upon thephoto-electric cell, but

when the scale-arm tips to the fully balanced position, a bracket 964 onthe left end of the scale-arm intercepts this light beam. When thislight beam is intercepted, the photo-electric cell operates switch unitsin a manner pointed out below to stop apron d and to raise baffle 28 toits broken-line position so that fur is deflected from the top of thehopper. Simultaneously, circuits are conditioned to permit the openingof the bottom-dumping mechanism of hopper 20, and if the otheroperations are completed, the bottomdumping mechanism is opened to dumpthe fur on endless belt 24. The bottom-dumping mechanism then reclosesand the baflle 25 is returned to its full-line position, so that furagain may be delivered to the hopper. Immediately, the delivery of thefur to the hopper is restarted and while the previously weighed quantityof fur is being conveyed to the forming tower and deposited upon thecone, a new quantity of fur is being weighed and dumped onto endlessbelt 24.

During the actual weighing of the fur, no fur is deposited on endlessbelt 24, and thus the fur moves to feed rollers 30 and forward to theformin tower in definitely divided quantities which are spaced apartsufiiciently to allow for any abnormal conditions in the conveying ofany particular quantity of fur. As will be more fully explained below,sieve-rollers 38 and 40 are stopped at a predetermined time in thetiming cycle prior t the opening of doors 2!. This permits all of thefur which is passed by the sieve-rollers to move through feed rollers 44and beyond picker 46 to the cone in the forming tower before the doorsare opened. Likewise, during normal operation, sieve-rollers 38 and 48are started prior to the closing of the doors; and at the time the doorsare closed, fur starts collecting on the cone without delay.

During the time that the sieve-rollers are' stopped, a portion of thequantity of fur to form the next bat is collected on the sieve-rollersand, in fact, any stray fur which may be present is collected in thismanner. When the sieve-rollers are restarted, this layer of fur isimmediately fed through feed rollers 44 to picker 46 and thence to theforming tower. This initial quantity of fur deposited upon the emptycone is sumcient to form a thin layer of fur over the entire cone. Thiseffectively prevents the fur from being drawn through the perforationsin the cone as might occur if the feeding of the fur to the cone werestarted slowly. The quantity of fur initially delivered to the cone inthis manner is regulated by controlling the amount of fur delivered tothe sieve-rollers while they are stopped.

As indicated above, each quantity of fur is rapidly and accuratelyweighed by delivering the fur to the hopper 20 at a rapid rate duringthe time that the major portion of the fur is being delivered to hopper20' and delivering the fur at a slow rate when the amount of fur inhopper 20 ap- ,.roaches the desired quantity. In the embodimentdisclosed, this result is obtained by reducing the speed of apron 4 sothat the layer of fur is presented to front wiper it at a slow rate, andin addition, the back wiper III is moved closer to the apron so that athinner layer of fur is presentspasms ed to the front wiper. Bycombining these two actions, the fur is delivered to the scale hopper ina reliable manner and in a minimum of time. Under some circumstances, itis desirable to omit either the step of reducing the speed of apron t orthe step of moving the back wiper. The time in the weighing cycle whenthe reduction in the speed of feeding fur occurs is adjusted dependingupon the characteristics of the fur being weighed and upon the weight ofthe bat being formed by the machine.

In this embodiment, back wiper iii is swung through an arc to and fromthe apron, but the axis of rotation is maintained parallel to the top ofthe apron. Accordingly, the back wiper shaft 92 extends (see Figure 2)beyond the hopper side walls through arcuate slots to (see also Figure3) with the ends of the shaft supported by swinging arms i3 and it(Figure 4). Shaft i2 is mounted in these arms in the manner shown inFigure 5, there being for each arm a double ball-bearing unit ti withoil seals, and the upper end of the arms being rigidly carried on theends of a pivot shaft ii. Pivot shaft H is rockably mounted in suitablesleeve bearings 63 in the side walls of the hopper.

As shown best in Figure 4, the back wiper shaft 1 2 is normally heldaway from the apron 4 (to the left in Figure 4) by a coil spring 12, theleft end of which engages a lug 14 on the lower end of arm i5. The otherend of spring 12 (see also Figure 2) is adjustably retained by a bracketll upon the base frame. At the left (Figure 4) arm i5 is limited in itsmovement by the engagement of lug 74 with an adjustable stop unit 18which is adjusted by turning a thumb screw 19 and which is then lockedby means of a lock nut 11-.

The back wiper is moved from its position away from apron 4 to itsposition adjacent apron 4 by a toggle unit shown in Figure 3. Thistoggle unit comprises a short link 62 which is pivoted to the lower endof arm 13 and a long link 64 which is pivoted to the right-hand end oflink 82 and to a fixed bracket 66 (shown in dotted lines) on the baseframe. At the juncture of links 62 and 64, an operating arm 68 ispivoted and extends downwardly with its lower end attached to anarmature 10 of a solenoid unit having a solenoid 12. These elements arenormally held in the position shown. but when solenoid 12 is energized,armature 18 is pulled downwardly with link 64 swinging about itsright-hand end, and with the left-hand end of link 62 moving to the leftand swinging the back wiper toward the apron. The amount of movementimparted to the back wiper by the energization of solenoid 12 (Figure 3)may be adjusted by changing the length of link 64. This movement islimited by a fixed stop 63 which prevents the back wiper from moving tooclosely to the apron.

Rotation is imparted to back wiper ID in the manner shown best inFigures 2, 4 and 5, power being received from a motor 18 (Figure 2)through a speed-reduction unit- 80. Referring to Figure 5, the poweroutput shaft 8! of the speedreduction unit carries a sheave 82 which isdrivingly connected through a V-belt 84 to a sheave 88. Sheave 86 ismounted upon and keyed to the hub of a gear 88 which is rotatablymounted by means of a double ball-bearing unit 89 on the end of shaft H.Gear 88 meshes with a gear 98 keyed to the end of shaft i2. Power frommotor i8 is thus transmitted through the gear-reduction unit 80, sheave82, V-belt 8t, sheave 88, and gears 88 and to. to shaft l2. As

shown best in Figure 4, type of power-transmission unit does notinterfere with the swinging movement of the back wiper shaft I2. Forexample, assuming that the back wiper is not rotating, the movement ofthe back wiper shaft I2 to the right (Figure 4) merely causes gear 90 toroll upon gear 89 a distance equal to the arc through which shaft I2 isswung. This causes a slight rotation of the back wiper which rotationhas no harmful effect. If the back wiper is being rotated during suchswinging movement, the only effect is a negligible momentary change inthe speed of rotation.

The means for imparting movement to apron 4 is best shown in Figures 2and 3, there being (Figure 3) a fast speed motor 92 and a slow speedmotor 94 which are connected by means of a V- belt 96 which is carriedby a sheave 99 on the,

shaft of motor 92 and a sheave I on the shaft of motor 94. The shaft 9Iof motor 92 is mechanically connected at the left to a speed-reductionunit I02 which (seeFigure 2) carries upon its power output shaft a gearI04 and a sheave I06. Gear I04 meshes with a gear I08 (Figures 2 and 3)which is keyed to the shaft I09 (Figure 3) carrying the top of apron 4(Figure 1). sheave I06 is connected by means of a V-belt II2 to a sheaveII4 which is keyed to (Figure 3) the shaft I I6 which carries frontwiper I6. Motors 92 and 94 both rotate so as to turn shaft I 09counterclockwise, and shaft H6 clockwise. When motor 92 is operating,apron 4 is moved at a rapid rate and front Wiper I9 is rotated rapidlyso that fur is delivered to the scale hopper at a fast rate. When, aswill be explained more in detail below, the quantity of fur inthe'hopper approaches the desired amount, motor 92 is turned oh? andmotor 94 is turned on. At this time, power from motor 94 is transmittedthrough sheave I00, V- belt 96 and sheave 98 to the shaft 9| of motor 92and thence to shaft I09 of the apron and to shaft II6 of the frontwiper. The slow speed of motor 94 causes apron 4 and front wiper I9 tomove slowly, and fur is delivered to the scale hopper at a slow rateuntil the desired weight is reached. At this time motor 94 isdeenergized; stopping the apron and the front wiper.

When the front wiper is being rotated rapidly, it impels a considerableblast of air downwardly, and as shown in Figure 1, this blast of air isdirected against the scale hopper. This blast of air upon the scalegives an artificial reading on there is more fur in the hopper than ispresent. This condition may be compensated for by adjusting the scale,but nevertheless, it is especially ob- J'ectionable when the amount offur in the scale hopper approaches the desired quantity a the scalewould tend to trip too soon with the result that a light-weight batwould be produced by the machine. The efiect of this blast of air isreduced by providing at the left of the top of the scale hopper agrill-work H8, through which the air readily escapes. As indicatedabove, baflle 26 is of wire mesh and does not interfere with this flowof air. In addition to this, with the present apparatus, when fur isbeing delivered to the scale hopper at a slow rate, the rate of rotationof the front wiper is substantially reduced so that the effect of theblast of air is negligible. Thus.

as indicated above, the front wiper is driven by motors 92 and 94, andat the time the speed of the apron is reduced, the speed of the frontwiper is also reduced. In this manner, the effect of the blast of airfrom the front wiper upon the weighthe scale so that the scale tends toindicat that ing mechanism is negligible during the time that the finalamount of each quantity of fur is bein delivered to the scale hopper.

Under some conditions of operation, it is quite important that the speedof apron 4 and front wiper I6 be reduced promptly when the approximateweight of fur is reached. This makes it possible to more accuratelyadjust the apparatus so that substantially all of the fur is deliveredto the scale at the rapid rate and then only a very small quantity isdelivered to the scale at the slow rate. In the present embodiment,motors 92 and 94 are three-phase motors and when the drive is shiftedfrom motor 92 to motor 94, motor 94 initially tends to act as a brake toreduce the speed of the apparatus to the synchronous speed of motor 94.Thus, the change from fast speed to slow speed is prompt and dependable,and the moving parts do not tend to coast. On the righthand end of motor94 is a solenoid-operated brake unit which is automatically releasedwhen the motors are started, and which is effective when the motors areturned oflf to immediately stop rotation, all in a manner more fullydiscussed below.

As indicated above, baffle 29 (Figure 1) is raised to thebroken-lineposition to stop the flow of fur to the weigher when the desiredquantity of fur to form a bat has been delivered to the weigher. Thebaflle is lifted to this position by an operating unit shown at the leftof Figure 3. This operating unit is formed by a toggle having a pair oflinks I20 and I22 which ar pivoted together and are connected to anoperating arm I 24 which carries at its lower end the armature I26 of asolenoid unit having a solenoid I 28. The right-hand end of link I20 ispivoted to a fixed bracket I30 and the left-hand end of link I22 ispivoted to an operating lever I32. Operating lever I32 is fitted ontothe end of a bar I34 which extends across the machine (see Figure 2) andrigidly carries the baffl 26. Bar I34 is'rockably mounted in a pair ofbearing units I35 carried by the base frame, so that the baflie may beswung as indicated in Figure 1 from the full-line position i to thebroken-line position.

When solenoid I28 (Figure 3) is not energized the baffle hangsvertically, and the-members assume the position shown. During operation,when sufficient fur to form a bat has been delivered to hopper 20-0)?the weigher, solenoid I28 is energized so that armature I26 is drawndownwardly into the solenoid. This pulls operating arm I24 downwardlyand swings links I20 and I22 toward their position of alignment. Thus,link I20 swings about its right end and the left end of link I22 ismoved to the left, thereby swinging operating lever I32 and bar I34counterclockwise. At the limit of movement of armature I26, links I20and I 22 are in substantial alignment and the baflle is in its raisedposition. When solenoid I28 is deenergized, the baffle is returned bygravity and carries the other elements to their respective positions.

Referring again to Figure 1, apron 4 is mounted at the top upon a rollerI36 which is carried at its ends (see Figure 2) by a pair of bearingunits I3'I which receive the roller shaft. The bottom of apron 4(Figure 1) is carried by a similar roller I38 which has a shaft I39,each end of which is mounted in an adjustable bearing unit, shown inFigure 6 and indicated at I40. Bearing unit I40 is secured to anadjusting bracket MI by four stud bolts I42, and adjusting bracket MI isin turn mounted upon the hopper end wall by a pair of adjusting studbolts I43, each of which extends to the base frame through a slot I44 inthe adjusting bracket. through a slot I45 in the end wall of the hopperso that when stud bolts I43 are loosened, bracket I may be adiusted sothat roller I38 i positioned to give the proper tension to apron 6.

In order to accurately and conveniently adjust the position of bracketI, an adjusting bolt I46 provided. Adjusting bolt MS has its upper endattached to the adjusting bracket by means of a. pin I4! and has itslower end extending through a hole in a bracket I48 which is rigidlycarried on the base frame. A nut I49 is threaded onto the adjusting boltand is turned to pull the bolt and the adjusting bracket downwardly.This movement is against the tension of apron 6 so that the apron istightened by the tightening of the nut.

If the apron is too tight, nut M9 is loosened and the aoron pulls thebracket upwardly to the proper position. When the proper tension isobtained upon the a ron, set screws M3 are ti htened and the roller I38is thus held n the adjusted position.

The bottom of the hopper is provided with a hinged grating unit ltd(Figure l) which collects foreign materials and permits small materialto fall from the hopper; the grating unit may The roller shaft I39extends be opened to permit access to the bottom of the hopper. Fur isdelivered to the hopper through a swinging door H52 which is hin ed atits lower edge'and which is provided at each end (se Figures 3 and 4)with a disc sector 153 to form side walls when the door is open. At eachof its ends, the door is provided with a latch bar I54 which cooperateswith a keeper its on the outer wall of the hopper. These latch barsnormally hold the door in closed position as shown, and the latch barsmay be lifted and the door swung to the position shown in broken linesin Figure 3. When in this open position. the door and the disc sectorsI53 form a chute through which fur is delivered to the hopper.

As indicated in my copending application, under some circumstances it isdesirable to hold the fur to the apron as the fur is delivered from theapron to the front wiper. Accordingly, as shown in Figure 7, above andto the left of back wiper id and with their ends tensioned against apront are resilient holding fingers Is. As shown in Figure 8, holdingfingers It are of substantial width, and they are positioned to interiitwith barbs 8 on apron 8, and thus tightly contact the layer of fur onthe apron. Thus, as the layer of fur emerges from under the ends of thefingers, it is picked from the apron by the front wiper I6 and theindividual hairs of the fur are thoroughly separated.

The electrical control circuit together with certain of the operatingsolenoids and certain portions of the air pressure system is shown inFigure 9. As pointed out above, this control circuit comprises a timedmechanism which cooperates with a number of mechanically operatedswitches to produce a unified control for the entire fur supply andbat-forming mechanism. This control correlates the action of: the meansto move fur from the fur supply hopper to the weighing mechanism; themeans to accurately weigh the means for each of the cones. The controlis such that the mechanism will continuously produce bats it it ispermitted to operate without interruption, but the operator can stop theoperation at any time, and when the mechanism is again started, nodifiiculty is encountered as a result of the stopping. This last featureof permitting the operator to stop the operation is important inproviding a practical working machine.

As has been indicated above, in the present embodiment, two cones arealternately positioned within the forming tower, and, as fur is beingdeposited on one cone to form a bat, th bat upon the other cone is beingwette'd and stripped from the cone. Fur is supplied to these two conesin a single forming tower from a single weighing, conveying and furseparating unit.

According y, the control mechanism, diagrammatically shown in Figure 9,causes the fur conveying and separating and fur weighing mecha nisms tooperate continuously to supply the fur to the forming tower in separatequantities each of which is sufilcient to form a bat; and alternate onesof these quantities of fur are delivered to each of the cones. Thus, thesequence of operation for the weighing, conveying, and separatingmechanism and for the forming tower mechanism is repeated for each batwhich is formed.

However, while the same steps are performed by the mechanism individualto each of the cones,

each cone is handled separately, and a complete ation during apredetermined period of time while for into predetermined quantities;the means to the other portion of the circuit completes its cycle ofoperation during two of these periods.

The apparatus is so controlled that a complete quantity of fur is beingweighed and delivered to the conveyor during the time that a previouslyweighed quantity of fur is being deposited upon a cone. Provision ismade for the operator to stop the automatic operation or any portion ofthe apparatus, and he can continue the manual control of the apparatusor he can make the automatic control operative again without danger ofinterfering with any of'the steps of the operation.

Referring to the left-hand portion of Figure 9, the mechanismindividually associated with each of the cones is controlled by a doublegang-switch 320 having two identical sets or gangs of switches. Theswitches of each gang are mechanically interconnected so that theyoperate together, and they normally remain in the open-switch position.Each gang of switches is provided with a solenoid which is energized toclose the switches of that gang. When one gang of switches is closed,circuits are completed controlling the suction upon the cone in theforming tower, the wetting and inverting of the cone outside of thetower, and,

tem from a three-phase, 220-volt, 60-cycle source having busses 326, 328and 329. Busses 326 and 328 supply control current and, accordingly, areextended along the four sides of Figure 9, with the various controlunits connected thereto. At the right of the gang switch 320 bus 326 isconnected to a downwardly extending lead 35! to which are connectedvarious of the operating units designated by the suffix -2. Theoperating solenoids for the two sides of gang-switch 320 are designatedas 330-! and 330-2, respectively; one side of each solenoid is connectedto a lead 332 which is in turn connected through a lead 334 tobus 328.The other side of solenoids 330-! and 330-2 are connected, respectively,to terminals 336-! and 336-2 of a switch 322; when armature 324 ofswitch 322 is in the position shown, terminal 336-! is connected to aterminal 338-! and when the armature is in the reversed position,terminal 336-2 is connected to a terminal 338-2. Terminals 338-! and338-2 are both connected through a-lead 340 extending to the right anddownwardly to a lead 342 which extends to the left to a terminal 344 ofa switch 346. Armature 348 "of switch 346 326 and 328 is impressedacross solenoid 330-! and the armature 352-! is held upwardly with thegang of switchesat the left closed. The closing of switch 354-!completes an interlock circuit from bus 326 through le d 356-! and lead358 to lead 340. Thus, as will be explained heow, even though armature348 of switch 346 is raised, solenoid 330-! remains energized untilarmature 324 of switch 322 is reversed; armature 324 is mechanicallyconnected-to the conetransfer rack and is reversed at the end of eachmovement of the rack. Thus, arm ture 324 remains in the position shownuntil the cones are moved to the reversed position; at this time. the swtch is reversed with the result that solenoid 330-! is deenergized andsolenoid 330-2 is energized.

As pointed out above in connection with Figure 1, the cones are swung toand from the forming tower by alternately supp ying a r to the trans ercylinders. Air is supplied to one of the cylinders throu h an a r line,and this supply of air is controlled by a normally closed v lve (notshown). This valve is turned to its position to supply air to the air lie by the energization of a control solenoid unit shown at the left of Fiure 9 and desi nated 366-!. un t '366-i is connected directly to bus 328by a lead 368-!. The other side of unit 366-! is connected through alead 364-l. a normally closed manual switch 62-!,' a lead 6l-l, and

a switch 360-! and through lead 318 to a terminal 312 of switch 346.

Switch 346 is provided with a swinging armature 313 which is normallyin-its lower position, the same as is armature 348, and these armaturesare l fted to their upper position by the energization of a solenoid31!. Solenoid 31! has one side connected through a lead 369 to bus 328and has its other side connected through lead 361, and a pair of doorswitches 365 and 363 to bus 326. Door switches 363 and 365 are normallyOne side of open and they are positioned on the forming tower to becontacted and closed when both sets of the forming tower doors are fullyopened. Accordingly, switch 363 is positioned to be engaged and closedby the left-hand door 20! (Figure 1) when the door reaches the extremeopen position. Switch 365 is similarly positioned to be engaged by oneof the doors on the other side of the forming tower. Thus, when bothsets of doors are opened, both of switches 363 and 365 are closed andsolenoid 31! is energized, thereby raising armatures 348 and 313.

Armature 313 is connected through a lead 315 to a terminal 311 of thesuction timer switch 438, which, as will be more fully explained below,is provided with an armature which is raised a. predetermined time aftereach cone transfer operation. Armature 458 is connected through a lead313 to a terminal 38! of anormally closed relay switch indicated at 383.Relay switch 383 is provided with two armatures 385 and 5!! which arenormally held raised by the energization of solenoid 113, one side ofwhich is connected through a lead 115 to bus 328 and the other side ofwhich is connected through a lead 111, manual switches 119 and 18!, andlead 183 to bus 326. Thus, terminal 38! is normally con-- nected througharmature 385 directly to bus 326, and during operation, the raising ofarmature 313 of switch 346 connects bus 326 through armature 38.5,terminal 38!, lead 319, armature 458, terminal 311, lead 315, armature313, terminal 312, lead 310, switch 360-I, lead 36!-!, switch 362-! andlead 364-! to solenoid unit 366-l. Thus when the bat has been removedfrom the cone outside the tower and a new bat has been formed on thecone inside the tower, the forming tower doors are opened, closingswitches 363 and 365 and raising the armatures of switch 346, and thefull line voltage between busses 326 and 328 is impressed acrosssolenoid unit 366!. This operates the air control valve so that air issupplied through the air line to the transfer cylinder and the cones aretransferred in the manner outlined above.

Manual switch 119 is moved under some circumstances by the operator tothe vertical position or to the right into engagement with terminal 195,and this opens the connection from lead 111 through switch 119 andswitch 16! to lead 183. Accordingly, switch 346 is provided with a pairof interlock terminals 189 and 181 which are engaged by armature 348when the armature is in the raised position. Terminal 189 is connectedthrough a lead 19! to lead 111 and terminal 181 is connected through alead 185 to switch 18!. Thus, when the doors are opened, and thetransfer operation has started, the circuit from bus 326 through switch18! to lead 111 and solenoid 113 is not broken by the opening of switch119.

The automatic controlcircuit for solenoid unit 366-! may be disconnectedby moving switch trolled by a spray solenoid unit 380-! which whenenergized, opens the air valve, andwhen deenergized, closes the airvalveandopens the airline to exhaust. One side of control unit 380-! is waterto the spray is main-- connected through a lead 382-! directly to bus328; the other side of the control unit is connected through lead 384-!,switch 381-!, lead 389-!, switch 386-!, and lead 388 to terminal 398 ofa spray timer switch generally indicated at 392.

With switch 392 in the position shown, its armature 394 contactsterminal 398 and connects it through lead 396 to terminal 398 of relayswitch 363 which has its armature 385 connected to bus 326. Whenarmature 385 is in its normally raised position, it engages terminal 398and the potential of bus 326 is carried through armature 385, terminal398, lead 386, armature 394, terminal 398, to lead 388, and when switch386-! is closed, to lead 389-!, and through switch 381-! and lead 384-!to the spray control unit 388-!. Thus, with the switches in thepositions shown, the full potential between busses 326 and 328 isimpressed across spray control unit 388-! and water is supplied to thespray nozzle.

The spray timer switch 392 starts its timing operation when the doorsare closed, and at the beginning of the timing operation, armature 394is in the position shown. When the timing operation is completed, thearmature is lifted and the armature is held in this raised positionuntil thenext cone-transfer operation takes place. At this time, thearmature is immediately dropped so. that the timer switch may beimmediately recycled to start a new timing operation. The timer switchis provided with a cyclic operation mechanism 4!!) which has one sideconnected through a lead M6 to bus 328 and which has its other sideconnected through a lead M to lead 348, which as outlined above, isconnected to terminal 344 of switch 346, and when the doors are closedterminal 344 is connected through'armature 3'48, terminal 349 and lead358 to bus 326. The connection between lead M5 and bus 326 is maintainedafter the doors are reopened through lead 348 which is connected throughan interlock circuit formed by lead 358, switch 354-! and lead 356-! tobus 326. This interlock is maintained until the transfer operation whichreverses armature 324 to thereby deenergize solenoid 338-!, with theresult that the gang of switches 352-! is dropped. Shortly thereafter,the doors tion and is again energized or recycled when the doors areclosed.

This operating mechanism is so adjusted that after energization,armature 394 remains in the position shown for a period such, forexample, as six seconds, and at the end of this period, the armature islifted to its raised position away from terminal 398. Thus, after a conehas been removed from the forming tower with a bat thereon, thereclosing of the doors permits armature 348 to drop with the result thatone gang of switches of gang-switch 328 is closed, thereby starting thespraying operation, and simultaneously the cycle of the spray timerswitch is started. This spraying operation continues for the period,illustratively, six seconds, at the end of which time, armature 394 islifted, breaking the circuit of solenoid 388-I.

When a bat is removed from the forming tower, it is sprayed, and duringthe early part of this spraying process, it is important that sufiiclentsuction be maintained upon the inside of the cone to draw the waterthrough the bat so that the bat is thoroughly wetted. During the latterperiod of the spraying process, the suction is reduced so that the waterwill not be drawn into the suction blower, and so that the bat will beleft in a properly wetted condition.

The suction in each of the suction pipes is controlled by a butterflyvalve which is opened by supplying air to a control unit through an airline. The supply of air to the two air lines is controlled by twosuction-control units 428-! and 428-2 which are controlled by thecombined operation of the lower switch of each gang of switch 328, andthe suction timer switch 438 which in turn controls a switch 422. Oneside of suction-control unit 428-! is connected to bus 328 through alead 424, and one side of unit 428-2 is connected to bus 328 throughlead 333. The other side of suction-control unit 428-! is connectedthrough a lead 442-! to switch 444-2 and in a like manner, the otherside of suction control unit 428-2 is connected through a lead 2-2 toswitch 444-!.

Switches 444-! and 444-2 are connected through a lead 446 to bus 326 andthus, when the left-hand gang of switch 328 is closed, the right-handsuction-control unit 428-2 is held energized and suction is continuallymaintained upon the right-hand cone which is then within the formingtower. hand gang of switch 328 is closed, the left-hand suction-control.unit 428-! is held energized.-

However, suction upon the cone outside the forming tower is controlledby the switch 422. Accordingly, lead 442-! is connected through a lead44!-! and a switch unit 428-! of switch 422 to bus 326, and in a likemanner, lead 442-2 is connected through a lead 44!-2 and a switch unit428-2 to bus 326. Thus, when the armature 434 of switch 422 is in'thelower position shown, both suction units are connected to bus 326regardless of the closing of the two gangs of switches of switch 328,and when the armature 434 of switch 422 is raised, suction is maintainedonly on the cone within the forming tower.

Armature 434 of switch 422 is raised by the energization of solenoid 436which has one side connected to bus 328 through a lead 448 and which hasits other side connected through a lead 458 to terminal 45! of switch346 which is normally engaged by armature 313. As indicated above,armature 313 is connected through lead 315 to terminal 311 of thesuction timer switch 438 and when the armature 458 of the suction timerswitch is raised, a connection is made through lead 319 and relay switch383 to bus 326. Suction timer switch 438 is provided with a cyclingoperating mechanism 462 which= is similar-to and is connected inparallel with the corresponding operating mechanism 4!8 of spray timerswitch 392, and thus, the suction timer switch starts its timing cyclesimultaneously with the starting of the timing cycle of the spray timerswitch. .The operating mechanism lifts armature 458 four seconds afterthe beginning of its timing cycle and at the end of this time, bus 326is connected through relay switch 383, lead 319, armature 458, terminal311, lead 315, armature 313, terminal 45!, and lead 458 to solenoid 436.This energizes solenoid 436 and lifts armature 434, and due to the factthat switch 444-2 is open, suction-control unit 428-! is deenergized.This reduces the suction on the cone which is being sprayed and theremainder of the Similarly, when the rightspraying operation is carriedon with reduced suc= tion. Later, when the bat has been removed from thecone, and the doors are reopened so that the cones can be transferred,the armature 313 01 switch 348 is raised in the manner explained above,so that the circuit 01' solenoid 438 is broken and armature 434 fallsimmediately to again energize the suction control unit 428--|. In thismanner, the suction within the cone is permitted to build up during thetime that the cone is being moved into the forming tower and when thedoors are reclosed, there is sufficient suction on the cone toimmediately draw the falling fur to the cone.

It will thus be seen that the closing of one of the gangs of switch 328provides suction upon the cone during the entire time that the cone isin the forming tower and that prior to the opening of this gang ofswitches, an interlock is formed through switch 422 which maintainssuction for a predetermined period of time. This predetermined period oftime is regulated by adjusting the suction timer switch 438 which isenergized at the time the spraying operation is started. Thus, accurateand reliable control is maintained upon the suction at all times and theapparatus is readily adaptable for efiicient operation under a widevariety of conditions.

Under some circumstances, it is desirable to hold the suction from thcone while the cone is being moved into the forming tower. That is, forexample, there are times when the suction builds up rapidly enough tocause a draft of air which is sufficient to dry the cone as the cone isbeing moved to the forming tower, and when fur is deposited onto a drycone, the fur tends to form rolls. Accordingly, inthis embodiment, lead458 is connected to lead 315 by a manual switch 193, and when thismanual switch is closed, it bypasses the circuit from lead 315 througharmature 313 and terminal 451. Thus, when the doors are open andarmature 313 is raised, the circuit of solenoid 436 is not broken andthe solenoid remains energized. In this manner, armature 434 is held inthe raised position and suction is not returned to the cone. At the endof the transfer operation, the suction timer switch 438' is recycled andits armature 458 is dropped. This opens the circuit of solenoid 436 andthe suction is immediately returned to the cone.

After the spraying operation has been completed, the cone isautomatically inverted so that the bat may be stripped therefrom. Thisinverting operation is accomplished by supplying air to a verticalcylinder through an air line the construction of which is explained inmy copending application. The supply of air to this air line iscontrolled by a flipper solenoid unit 4881 hav ing one side connectedthrough a lead 418-1 to bus 328, and the other side connected through alead 412-l, a manual switch 414-1 and a lead 416-1 to a switch 418--| ofthe gang 352-1. The other side of switch 4181 is connected through alead 488 extending to the right to a terminal 482 of a solenoid switch484.

Solenoid switch 484 is provided with an armature 486 .which is connectedto a lead'581 and which is moved to its upper position into engagementwith terminal 482 by the energization of solenoid 485 which has one sideconnected to bus 328 through a lead 498. The other side of solenoid 485is connected by leads 588 and 581 to a terminal 492 of a switch 393which is provided with two armatures 395 and 391, and these armaturesare lifted upon the energization of a soleto lead 512.

noid 488. Solenoid 488 has one side connected through lead 488 to bus328 and has its other side connected through a downwardly extending lead582 to the lower terminal 584 of the suction timer switch 438.- Thearmature 458 engages terminal 584 at the beginning of each timing cycle,and during this time, the terminal 584 is connected through armature458, lead 319 and relay switch 388 to bus 326. Thus, during the initialperiod of each of the timin cycles of the suction timer switch, solenoid488 is connected through the suction timer switch to bus 326 and thearmatures of switch 393 are raised. When in the raised position,armature 395 bridges a pair 01 interlock terminals 481 and 483 andthereby connects lead 582 Lead 512 is connected through a pair ofnormally closed pressure switches 588-1 and 5882 to a lead 518 whichextends to the left where it is connected through switch unit 511 ofrelay switch 383 to bus 326. Thus, when armature 395 is raised at thebeginning of a cycle of operations .by the dropping of armature 458, aninterlock circuit is formed through terminal 481, armature 395, terminal483, and thus through lead 512, the pressure switches 5881 and 5882,lead 518 and switch unit 511 to bus 328. Therefore, when the suctiontiming operation is completed and armature 458 is raised, solenoid 488remains energized as long as the interlock circuit is not interrupted'When in the raised position, armature 391 connects lead 581 throughterminal 492 to terminal 493 which is connected through a lead 495 toterminal 491 of the spray timer switch 392. As explained above, when thespraying operation is completed, armature 394 of the spray timer switchis raised, and when in the raised position, armature 394 connectsterminal 491 to lead 396 and thu through relay switch 383 to bus 326. Inthis manner, at the end of the spraying operation, bus 326 is connectedthrough switch 383, lead 388, timer switch 392, lead 495, switch 393,leads 581 and 588 to solenoid 485 with the result that solenoid 485 isenergized. The energization of solenoid 485 raises armature 488 andcompletes the connection from lead 581 through switch 484, lead 488,switch 418-1, lead 415--1, switch 414-1 and lead 4121 to the flipperunit 468-1. The energization of unit 4581 causes air to be delivered tothe air cylinder of the flipper mechanism and the cone is moved to itsinverted position at the flipper station.

Pressure switch 588--1 is connected to the air cylinder of the flippermechanism which has its air supply controlled by the left-hand flippercontrol unit 458-1, and similarly, pressure switch 5882 is connected tothe air cylinder of the right-hand flipper mechanism, all in a mannerpointed out in my copending application. When the flipper operation isbeing carried on, the pressure in the cylinder does not rise to the fullair line pressure, but when the mechanism reaches the limit of itsmovement, the air pressure gradually rises and duringthis time, theoperator removes the bat from the cone. Pressure switches 5881 and 5882are so adjusted that they normally remain closed, but each of them openswhen the pressure in its air line reaches the value of seventy poundsper square inch. Thus, after the cone has been moved to the strippingposition and the pressure within the cylinder reaches seventy pounds persquare inch, switch 5881 snap to the open position, and this breaks theinterlock circuit to solenoid 488. Accordingly, the solenoid isdeenergized and the armatures 391 and 395 drop.

The dropping of armature 391 opens the circuit to the flipper controlunit 468-! and this shuts off the air to the flipper-operatingmechanism. The flipper operating mechanism automatically moves bygravity back to its lower position returning the cone to its position atthe side of the forming tower, and pressure switch 506-4 closes when thepressure within the cylinder reaches substantially atmospheric pressure.Thus, the interlock circuit is conditioned so that during the next cycleof operations it will be effective to maintain solenoid 469 energized.

When the operator is removing the bat from the cone and, for somereason, he desire to hold the cone in the inverted position for anextended period of time, he merely swings the armature of switch 119against its right=hand terminal 195. This carries the potential from bus326 through lead 183, switch 181, switch 119, and a lead 191 to lead480. Thus, even though the pressure switch is opened to thereby openswitch 393 and break the normal flipper circuit, the flipper controlunit remain energized. The cone may be returned at any time by movingthe armature of switch 119 to the position shown. The cone may also beheld in the raised position, or it may be moved to the raised position,by moving the armature of switch 414i to the left into contact withterminal 413-|. This connects solenoid unit 466-! directly to bus 326through lead 415-4, and maintains air pressure in the flipper cylinderregardless of the condition of the remainder of the circuit.

As has been pointed out above, fur is delivered to the weighingmechanism at a rapid rate during the delivery of the major portion ofeach quantity of fur to form a bat. However, as the amount of fur in thescale hopper approaches the proper weight, the rate of delivery of furis slowed down and accurate and dependable weighing is accomplished. Inthe embodiment disclosed, the slowing down of the rate of delivery offur is accomplished by moving the back wiper toward the apron and theapron is slowed down, and as a result, a thinner layer of fur is movedto the front wiper at a slower rate. The accuracy of weighing is furtherfacilitated by reducing the speed of rotation of the front wiper tothereby render negligiblethe effect upon the .scale of the blast of airfrom the front wiper. Thus, the fur from the front wiper slowly settlesinto the hopper, and the scale arm approaches the balanced condition.The fur has negligible momentum, and when the force of the blast of airis negligible, the possibility of an error in weighing is very small.

The back wiper is moved toward the apron in the manner outlined above inconnection with Figure 3 by the energization of a solenoid unit 12which, as shown at the right of Figure 9, has one side connected througha lead 160 to bus 328 and which has its other side connected through anormally open switch unit 162 and a lead 164 to bus 326. Switch unit 162is a part of solenoid switch 166 and switch 166 is provided with asolenoid 168 which has one side connected through a lead 110 to bus 326.The other side of solenoid 168 is connected through a lead 112 to amagnetically operated sealed switch 114 the other side of which isconnected through a lead 564, a switch unit 515 and a lead 519 to bus326. Switch unit 515 remains closed when fur is being delivered to thehopper, and as the amount of fur within the hopper approaches thedesired quantity, the initial movement of the scale arm moves themagnetic armature of switch 114 to thereby close switch 114 and connectsolenoid 168 to bus 326. This closes switch 162 and energizes solenoidunit 12, with the result that the back wiper is moved to its positionnear the apron.

As indicated above, the change in the rate of movement of the apron andthe rate of rotation of the front wiper is accomplished by changing thedrive from a, fast speed motor 92 to a slow speed motor 94. These motorsare shown at the right of Figure 9 with motor 92 connected to bus 328 bya lead 646 and motor 94 connected to bus 328 by a lead 542. A solenoidswitch 544 controls the connecting of the two motors to the other twobusses, and switch 544 is provided with two armatures 553 and 554 andwith a solenoid 556. When solenoid 556 is deenergized, armatures 553 and554 engage terminals 551 and 552, respectively, which are connectedthrough leads to the proper terminals of motor 92. Armature 554 isconnected through a lead 516 to a normally closed switch unit 516 of asolenoid switch 514, and in a like manner, armature 553 is connectedthrough a lead 569 to a normally closed switch unit 515 of solenoidswitch 514. The other side of switch 516 is connected through a lead 580to bus 329, and the other side of switch 515 is connected-through a lead519 to bus 326.

In this way, when the switch units 515 and 516 are in their normalclosed positions, buses 326 and 329 are connected to switch 544, andwhen the armatures of switch 546 are positioned as shown, motor 92 isoperated. Later, when solenoid 556 is energized, the armatures areraised and motor 94 is operated. Solenoid 556 of switch 544 is connectedat one side through a lead 538 to bus 328, and at the other side througha lead 560 to a magnetically operated sealed switch 562. The other sideof switch 562 is connected to lead 564 which, as indicated above, isconnected through switch unit 515, and lead 519 to\b us 326.. Aspreviously pointed out, the initial movement of the scale arm. towardthe balanced position closes switch 114 and this moves the back wipertoward the apron. Upon continued movement of the scale arm, the magnetof switch 562 is moved to close switch 562, and this energizes solenoid556 which raises the armatures 553 and 554 and changes the drive frommotor 92 to motor 94.

As indicated above, motors 92 and 94 drive the apron and the frontwiper, and the front wiper picks the fur from the apron so that theindividual hairs fall down to the scale hopper. Switches 562 and114 andtheir operating magnets are so related that the change in the frontwiper and apron drive from fast speed to slow speed takes placeapproximately one and onehalf seconds after the back wiper has beenmoved toward the apron. Thus, at the time of the reduction in speed ofthe front wiper, the thicker layer of fur has been picked from the apronand the thin layer of fur is then presented to the front wiper. Thelayer of fur of reduced thickness is thoroughly separated by the frontwiper and this is carried on until the amount of fur in the scale hopperreaches the exact weight.

As explained above in connection with Figure 1, when the quantity of furin the hopper reaches the desired weight, a bracket 964 on the scale arm2| intercepts a beam ofv light from spotlight 962, and thephoto-electric relay unit I9 is thereby rendered effective. Referring toFigure 9, photo-electric relay unit 19 has one side connected to bus326, and has its other side connected through a lead 864 to solenoid 580of switch 514. The other side of solenoid 598 is connected through alead 882 to bus 328, and the closing of the photo-electric relay l9energizes solenoid 598 and raises the armatures of switch 514. As aresult, switch units 515 and 516 are opened to thereby break thecircuits of the motors 92 and 94. As explained above, at this time inthe feeding operation, solenoid 556 of switch 544 is energized and theapron and the front wiper are being driven by the slow speed motor 94,and when switch units 515 and 516 are opened, this feeding operation isimmediately stopped. The opening of switch unit 515 opens the circuitsthrough lead 564 to switches 562 and 114, so that solenoids 556 and 168of switches 544 and 166, respectively, are deenergized. Thus, switch 544is conditioned to deliver power to the fast speed motor 92 when thefeeding operation is restarted, and the back wiper i6 is moved away fromapron 4.

. As explained above in connection with Figure 3, to insure that thefeeding operation will stop immediately when motor 94 is disconnected,an automatically operating brake unit 95 is provided upon the shaft ofmotor 94. Brake unit 95 is schematically shown as having a brake drum968 upon the motor shaft which is gripped by a pair of brake shoes 968with the shoes pressed against the brake drum by a pair of springs (notshown). A cam lever 910 is provided with a cam portion extending betweenthe ends of the brake shoes, and when the cam lever is moved down, thecam portion moves the brake shoes awayfrom the brake drum. Attached tothe left-handend of cam lever 916 is an operating armature 912 which ispulled down to release the brake by the energization of a solenoid 914.One side of solenoid 914 is connected by a lead 916 to lead-518 and theother side is connected through a lead 918 to lead 569. As explainedabove, both motors derive power for their operation through leads 516and 569 which connect switches 516 and 515, respectively, to armatures554 and 553 of switch 544. The feeding operation is stopped by theopening of switches 518 and 515 to thereby disconnect leads 516 and 569from their busses; the feeding operation is restarted by the closing ofswitches 516 and 515. Thus, whenever either of motors 92 or 94 is tooperate, line potential is across leads 510 and 569 and this energizessole-" mold 914 to release the brake unit 95. When both of the motorsare turned off solenoid 914 is deenergized and the brake is engaged toimmediately closes a switch unit 808 which has one side con nectedthrough lead 519 to bus 326, and which has its other side connectedthrough a lead 8! to a baffle-operating unit M2, the other side of whichis connected through lead 814 to bus 328. Eadie-operating unit M2 iseffective when energized to raise baiile 26 (Figure 1) to thebrokenextending lead M8 to a switch unit 849 of the cyclic timingmechanism indicated at 809.

This cyclic timing mechanism normally completes a cycle while onequantity of fur is being weighed and another quantity of fur is beingdeposited upon a cone. At the left, a constantspeed motor 810 isconnected through a speed reduction mechanism to a shaft 6| 2 carryingsix cams. Each of these cams is positioned to engage and close anormally open switch for a predetermined period of time, at a particularpoint in the cycle of operation; the cams are designated 622. 624, 826,628, 638, and 632, and they operate switches 634, 638, 636, 646. 642,and 644 respectively.

At the left of the motor 6H] upon a shaft 6": is mounted a brake 6| 4which prevents rotation of the motor except when the brake solenoid 6| 6is energized. Solenoid 616 is connected across the input leads M8 and820 of motor 616 and is energized to release the brake when the motor isstarted. Shaft 6| 2 rotates at the rate of one revolution everytwenty-seven seconds, and the various switches are opened and closed bytheir respective cams for varying portions of this time. to complete acycle in a manner more fully pointed out below. It should be noted.however, that the period of time necessary to complete the steps whichoccur during one cycle depends upon the conditions under whichthe-apparatus is used, and particularly upon the timenecessary todeposit a single quantity of fur on a cone in the forming tower, and thelength of time necessary to weigh a quantity of fur. Accordingly, therate of rotation of shaft 6| 2 and the contours of the various cams arevaried depending upon the conditions of use.

Under normal conditions of operationQimmediately after the properquantity of fur has been delivered to the hopper, as indicated by theclosing of switch unit 8l6, cam 628 engages and closes switch 646 tothereby complete a. circuit to bus 326 from lead 8l8 through lead 658,terminal 828 of a relay switch 822, a normally raised armature 824 ofthe switch, and a lead 826 to bus 326. This carries the potential of bus326 through lead 826, switch 822, lead 658, switch 648, lead 818 switchunit 8| 6, and lead 652 to solenoid 646, and the other side of thesolenoid is connected through switch 650 to bus 328. This energizessolenoid unit 646 to thereby open the bottom-dumping mechanism of thescale hopper and dump the fur.

After the bottom-dumping mechanism of the hopper has been opened, andthe fur falls on endless belt 24, the bottom of the hopper is closedagain by the energization of scale-closing solenoid unit 682. One sideof solenoid unit 682 is connected through lead 648 and switch 850 to bus328, and the other side is connected through lead 684, switch 642 andlead 686 to lead 658, and thus through relay switch 822 and lead 826 tobus 326. Accordingly, during normal operation, at an interval of threeseconds after the closing of switch 640, cam 636 engages and momentarilycloses switch 642 to thereby close the bott0mdumping mechanism so thatthe scale hopper may receive fur again.

, After the proper quantity of fur has been delivered to the hopper,thereby closing photo-electric relay l9 and energizing solenoid 596 ofswitch 514, the photo-electric relay is apt to reopen due to theswinging of the scale arm 2|, as when the fur falls from the hopper,before the closing of the bottom-dum ing mechanism. However, it isimportant that baflie 28 be held in its raised position (the broken-lineposition of Figure 1) to deflect fur from the top of the hopper, andthat the feeding mechanism remain stationary until the bottom-dumpingmechanism is closed so that the hopper may receive fur. Otherwise, therestarting of the feeding operation would result in the delivery of furthrough the hopper without being weighed. Accordingly, simultaneouslywith the closing of switch 640 by cam 628, switch 644 is closed by cam632 to complete an interlock circuit around the photo-electric relayunit I9, and this interlock circuit maintains solenoid 590 energizedeven though the circuit of the relay unit I9 is opened. This interlockcircuit extends from bus 326 through lead 826, armature 824, terminal820, lead 658, switch 640, lead 8I6, lead 656, switch unit 816, lead652, switch 644 and lead 660 to solenoid 590. This interlock circuit isheld until cams 628 and 632 simultaneously move away from their switches640 and 644, which is at the time of the closing of the hopper by thesolenoid unit After the dumping operation, the scale hopper contains nofur and therefore, the hopper 20 is immediately raised so that the scalearm 21 moves downwardly, and the beam of light from spotlight 962 againplays upon the photo-electric cell so that photo-electric relay unit I9disconnects lead 804 from bus 326. Thus solenoid 590 is deenergized andthe armatures of switch 514 are dropped. This opens switch unit 806 anddeenergizes the solenoid unit 6I2 so that baille 26 is returned to itsvertical position. Switch units 515 and 516 are also reclosed so thatthe power'circuits for motors 92 and 94 are extended to switch 544. Thereturn of the scale arm also opens switches 562 and 114 and solenoids556 and 168 remain deenergized with the armatures of switches 544 and166 in the position shown. Thus the control circuit for supplying fur tothe scale hopper is conditioned to feed fur to the scale hopper at arapid rate.

As pointed out above, sieve-rollers 38 and 40 are stopped just prior tothe opening of the formthe doors are completely closed, the accumulatedfur is immediately deposited upon the cone. The sieve-rollers are drivenby a clutch which is normally held engaged by a spring and a solenoidunit 690 is provided which is energized to disengage the clutch and stopthe sieve-rollers. Solenoid unit 690 has one side connected through alead 692 to bus 328, and has its other side connected through a lead 698to a normally closed switch unit 828 of a relay switch 900. The otherside of switch unit 828 is connected through leads 902 and 904 to switch638, the other side of which is connected to a lead 100 which extendsdownwardly and to the left where it is connected through a lead 102 to aterminal 104 of switch 346. Terminai104 is positioned to be contacted byarmature 313 when the armature is in the lower position as shown, and aspointed out above, at the end of the suction timing cycle, armature 313is connected through lead 315, terminal 311 of the suction timer switch438, armature 458, lead 319, and switch 383 to bus 326. Accordingly,just prior to the opening of the forming tower doors, cam 624 closesswitch 636 and energizes solenoid unit 690 to stop rotation of thesieve-rollers. Later, when the forming tower doors are completely open,armature 313 of switch 346 is raised, thereby breaking this circuit tosolenoid unit 690 and restarting the sieve-rollers. The cone-transferoperation is then carried on and the timing is such that the formingtower doors are reclosed by the tim the fur moves from the sieve-rollersto the cone.

Relay switch 900 is provided with a normally deenergized solenoid 152and an armature 102 which is normally in its lower position to therebyclose the switch units 144 and 828. Switch unit 144 is in the circuit ofthe cyclic motor 6l0 with one side connected through lead 148 to inputlead 618 of the cyclic motor, and with the other side connected througha lead 146 to a terminal 181 and an armature 908 of a relay switch 906,and through lead 826 to bus 326.

Relay switch 906 is provided with a normally deenergized solenoid 910,and its armatures 908 and 912 remain positioned as shown except when thesolenoid is energized. Armature 9 I 2 normally bridges a pair ofcontacts, one of .which is connected at the left through lead 694 to bus328, and the other of which is connected through leads 9I4 and 916 to aterminal of motor 130 for driving the endless belt 24 (Figure 1) and theadjacent feed rollers 30. The right-hand terminal of motor 130 isconnected through lead 922 to bus 329, and the left-hand terminal isconnected through lead 920, terminal 918, armature 908, and lead 826 tobus 326. Thus motor 130 is connected to all three of the busses, andruns continually under normal conditions.

Solenoids 152 of relay switch 900 has one side connected through a lead694 to bus 328. and its other side connected through leads 696 and 681to a normally open switch unit 584 of switch 166. The other side ofswitch unit 584 is connected through lead M8 to switch'640 which, aspointed out above, has its other side connected through lead 658, switch822, and lead 826 to bus 326. Under normal conditions, at the end of thecycle of weighing of a quantity of fur, cam 628 closes switch 640 tooperate the bottom-dumping mechanism of the hopper, whereupon, the furfalls from the hopper and the bottom-dumping mechanism is reclosed.

However, near the end of the feeding cycle, the armatures of switch 166are raised, and they remain in this raised position untilthe full weightof fur has been delivered to the hopper to thereby operate thephoto-electric relay unit I9 and raise the armatures of switch 514.Accordingly, if the full weight of fur has not been delivered to thehopper at the time switch 640 is closed, the potential of bus 326 iscarried through lead 826, switch 822, lead 656, switch 640, lead 818,switch unit 584, lead 691, and lead 696 to solenoid 152. This energizessolenoid 152 and the armature 142 of switch 900 is raised. The raisingof armsture 142 opens switch unit 144 to thereby stop the cyclic motor610.

Solenoid SW of relay switch 806 has one side connected through lead 694to bus 328 and has the other side connected through a lead 154 to switch636, the other side of which is connected through a lead 156 to lead100. As explained above, in connection with stopping the rotation of thesieve-rollers, lead is connected through lead 102 to terminal 104 ofswitch 346, and during the period of time after the completion of thesuction timing cycle and before the opening of the doors, terminal 104is connected through armature 313, lead 315, terminal 311 of suctiontimer switch 438, armature 458, lead 319, and switch 383 to bus 326. Cam628 is so positioned that under normal conditions, it momentarily closesswitch 636 shortly after the opening of the doors. The opening of thedoors having lifted armature 313, the closing of switch 636 does notcomplete the circuit to solenoid 8l0. However, if there has been a delayin the spraying and removing of the bat from the cone, this delay willresult in the forming tower doors remaining closed. Thus, at the timecam 626 closes switch 636, if armature 313 has not been lifted a circuitis completed to energize solenoid 8I0. This lifts armature 808 and stopsthe cyclic motor H0, and the operations of the fur feeding mechanism aretemporarily stopped, Subsequently, when the oper-' ations at the formingtower have been completed, the doors automatically open so that armature313 is lifted, thereby deenergizing solenoid 810 and restarting thecyclic motor.

Switch 822 is provided with a normally energized solenoid 666 which hasone side connected through a lead 668 to bus 328, and which has itsother side connected through a lead 612, a manual switch 614, and lead826 to bus 326. Manual switch 614 is normally in the left-hand positionas shown, so that solenoid 666 is energized and the switch armatures 824and 825 are raised. When the armature of manual switch 614 is moved tothe vertical position, solenoid 666 is deenergized, thereby droppingthearmatures 824 and 325. In dropping, armature 324 engages a terminal926 which is connected through lead 154 to solenoid 9! of relay switch806. This raises armature 808 and stops the cyclic timer motor 6l0 inthe manner outlined above, and it also disconnects the feeder motor 130so that apron 24 is stopped. Armature 824 also engages a terminal 828which is connected through a lead 830, lead 902, switch unit 828, andlead 688 to solenoid unit 680 with the result that the sieverollers arestopped. The dropping of armature 825 bridges two contacts to connectbus 326 through lead 826 to a lead 832 which is connected through lead680 to the solenoid 590 of relay switch 514. This energizes the solenoid580 and lifts the armatures of switch -14 to thereby shut ofi the furweighing and moving operations.

When it is desirable to clean the fur weighing and conveying mechanismmanual switch 614 is swung to the right into engagement with terminal834 which is connected through a lead 836, and lead 696 to solenoid 152of switch 800. This opens switch unit 328 to thereby deenergize solenoidunit 680 and restart the sieve-rollers. The armature of switch unit 628also bridges a pair of contacts 938 and 840 which connects bus 326through a lead 842, terminal 940, the armature, terminal 838, a lead844, and lead 920 to motor 130. The armature of switch unit 144 islifted to bridge a pair of contacts which connect lead 682 to a lead346. As explained above, lead 682 is connected to bus 328, and lead 846is connected through lead 916 to the center terminal of motor 130. Thus,the raising of armature 142 restarts the apron 24, the feed-rollers, andthe sieverollers, and the apparatus may be. cleaned as by a blast ofair.

As indicated above, the forming tower doors are opened at the propertime in the cycle of operations so that the one cone may be moved fromthe forming tower, and the other one may be moved into the formingtower. This occurs after the bat has been removed from the cone outsidethe forming tower, and fur has been deposited upon the cone within theforming tower. The doors are opened by the energization of a solenoidunit shown in the center portion of Figure 9 and indicated at H0. Oneside of solenoid unit H0 is connected through a lead 6 to bus 328, andthe other side is connected through a lead 1 I 6 to switch 634, with theother side of the switch connected through a lead 128 to a terminal 121of switch 333.

When the armature 385 of switch 383 is in the 'lower position, terminal121 is connected to a terminal 128 which is connected through lead 512,the normally closed pressure switches 508-l and 508-2, lead 5l0, andswitch unit 5 to bus 326. During normal operation, cam 622 closes switch634 to thereby energize the solenoid unit H0 and open the doors.However, if there has been a delay in the flipping operation, so thatthe flipper mechanism has not returned the cone to the side of theforming tower, the corresponding one of pressure switches 508-l or 508-2remains open, and the doors cannot be opened. Under these circumstances,the return of the cone and the closing of the pressure switchimmediately closes the circuit and the doors are opened.

As explained above in connection with the bat-spraying operation, when acone with a bat thereon is moved from the forming tower, solenoid 400 ofswitch 393 is energized through the suction timer switch, with theresult that the armatures of switch 393 are raised. An interlock circuitis then formed which is broken only when the flipper has moved the coneto the bat-stripping position, the interlock circuit being broken by theopening of the one of the pressure switches 508-4 or 5082, The liftingof armature 395 of switch 383 opens the circuit between leads 128 and5l2 of the door-opening circuit,'and, at the time armature 395is droppedagain, the door opening circuit is broken by the opening of one of thepressure switches.

In this manner, when a cone with a bat thereon is moved from the formingtower and the doors are reclosed, the cycle of operations is'startedwhich includes the steps of spraying the bat and moving the cone to andfrom the bat-stripping station; due to the forming of the interlock,these steps are performed automatically in their proper order. If thereis a delay in one of the steps, the

starting of each of the other steps is automatical- 1y delayed.Furthermore, if this group of steps takes longer than the normal timeallotted to v them, the operation of the machine automaticallycompensates for the delay.

It is important that certain of the individual operations of themechanism be carried to completion if they are once started, and thepresent apparatus insures that this will be done. For example, if theapparatus were stopped in the middle of the transfer operation, it wouldbe difficult to restart the apparatus without danger of injuring theapparatus. Further, if the weighing operation is started, it should becompleted before the apparatus is stopped. As indicated above,

as the opening of the doors initiates the transfer operation and thedoors are held open until the transfer operation is completed. Theopening of the doors raises the armatures of switch 346 to complete thecone transfer circuit through armature 313 and terminal 312, andsimultaneously armature 346 bridges terminals 188 and 181 to form aninterlock circuit between lead 111 and switch 18 I. This interlockcircuit is effective to hold solenoid 113 energized, even though thearmature of switch 118 is swung to the right,

